Next Car..., *dodges thrown items* Options

[Box]

So I've had my Celica for almost a year now, in two weeks it will be a year to be exact. In of itself I like the car, but it's time for something else. I'm wanting something with more power and a better ride. Doing swaps isn't an option and neither is reverting back to the stock suspension, for cost feasibility. So now I'm looking into the possibility of finding something else. Some of the cars I've been considering include: 1986.5-1992 Supra, 92-95 SC300, 91-93 240SX, 90-95 300ZX, 90-92 Camaro/Firebird, 90-95 Mustang. So I was wondering if anyone else have owned these vehicles and had an opinion of them. Or if you can think of others cars that I haven't thought of, I'd love to hear them. Pretty much anything RWD, 2 doors, and pre-OBDII I'd look into getting. I thought about the RX7 but I don't want to deal with rotary, and the Miata and MR2 are too small as I need space for carrying a synthesizer with me for when I got out and play. The Supra, SC300, and 300ZX are towards the bottom as they can be hard to work on, especially the 300ZX. Gas mileage isn't a concern to me anymore, but performance and comfort are. I'm not asking for it to ride like a Cadillac, but I do want something that'll ride better on these atrocities they call roads. So any help would be appreciated. I plan on trying to find an example of each of these cars and test driving them before completely committing to selling the Celica.

[momentai99]

^Indeed. That's a shame... The more I think about it the Miata would be the way to go. It handles really well, which is something I've come to expect. I realize that's important to me especially after having to drive my grandfather's Lexus ES300 for a few days, I couldn't deal with anything that handled like that or worse. For a sedan it was ok, but still... The slowness of the Miata is easily fixed, the handling of a Mustang probably not so much. Of course if someone wants to give me about $8,000 I'll just get a C5 Vette.

Eh a friend of mine has a miata and I think you feel the road way too much. They tend to be very uncomfortable for long periods of time, but the slow problem does definitely need fixed from the beginning haha. my old 92 civic was more comfortable to drive than his car but he was obsessed with it. A lot of miata guys tend to take their cars too seriously i've noticed so I wonder how the community is for them.

Hey Box... So at the start of next year I will be heading overseas for a 6month overseas exchange (for university studies) to either the UK or San Jose in California. If I go to Brittain I obviously already know exactly what to get But if I end up in the states I was thinking I would have to go with a stereotypically American V8 coupe... Especially with gas prices so low (<- See what I did there... I said 'gas' instead of 'petrol'.... I'll fit right in now ).

Since I will be using holiday spending money to buy and run it I was thinking something around $5k USD. HAS to be a manual, and needs to be reliable enough to clock up the kilometers (wait... Miles ) when I'm over there without too many hassles (so no old Trans Ams or the likes ). Since it is Cali in summer maybe a 2003 V8 Mustang Manual Convertible..... Any other suggestions?

5k for a convertible 2003 mustang manual? good luck buddy in cali haha. They go for more than that out here in PA and they're rusted here. But your totally fitting in now had no idea you weren't an american

[Box]

Eh a friend of mine has a miata and I think you feel the road way too much. They tend to be very uncomfortable for long periods of time, but the slow problem does definitely need fixed from the beginning haha. my old 92 civic was more comfortable to drive than his car but he was obsessed with it. A lot of miata guys tend to take their cars too seriously i've noticed so I wonder how the community is for them.

The way my Celica is set up you feel everything anyhow, so I'm used to it. If anything the Miata will be more comfortable than what I have now, until I lower it anyhow. I joined Miata.net not too long ago to scope things out, seems like a lot of nice and knowledgeable people are there. Sort of reminds me of here, though not as close knitted since it does span three generations versus just one.

[SwissFerdi]

As far as clarity of content and breadth of information, that forum is the best I've yet come across.